


Libra

by Ram92



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Five is trying, Gen, I was working on something else, Libra, Number Five | The Boy-centric, Pre-Season/Series 01, Quite Literally, Tadfield Advertiser, This wasn't meant to happen, Your Stars Today, after the apocalypse, but then it happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:29:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24403588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ram92/pseuds/Ram92
Summary: I don't know how this happened, but here we go:The world has ended, and good ol' Number Five is roaming around the wasteland of the human empire and killing time as best as he can. Mainly getting drunk and having a chat with his companion Dolores. Who seems to enjoy reading the horoscope columns...
Relationships: Dolores & Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Libra

_LIBRA (24 September- 23 October)_

_You may be feeling run down and always in the same old daily round. Home and family matters are highlighted and are hanging fire. Avoid unnecessary risks. A friend is important to you. Shelve major decisions until the way ahead seems clear. You may be vulnerable to a stomach upset today, so avoid salads. Help could come from an unexpected quarter._

<< Bullshit. >> he snorted. << You should stop reading that kind of magazine stuff, Dolores. >>

He gave another good sip at the bottle of gin he was firmly holding in his now not-so-steady-anymore grip.

<< Plus, even if I believed that shit, it was meant for the last week before the apocalypse, so years ago. >>

Dolores mocking gaze was piercing.

<< That’s because you keep picking up different magazines along the way, that’s why! >>

He spat precious drops of alcohol around.

<< Because those idiots can’t even agree on one prophecy among themselves, that’s why. And that proves once for all their absolute bullshitness, don’t you think? Jesus, Dolores, I thought you were the rational one, ‘round here. >>

She didn’t reply. She was offended, maybe, and angry. Or maybe not. Maybe she was pitying him. Five hated this, he could never seem to guess right.

<< Okay, okay, let me look at that thing. >> he backed down.

It was a local newspaper. Odd, she usually preferred fashion magazines, those things, girls stuff. Anyway, the date was right before the end, that was the Tadfield Advertiser’s official prediction for the apocalypse.

His eyes ran along the lines and got stuck on one sentence. He snorted a bitter stub of a laugh.

<< ‘Avoid unnecessary risks’. >> he read. << I begin to wonder if any of my siblings read their horoscope before they walked right through the end of humanity. >>

He put the bottle down.

Dolores pretended not to notice. That was one of the things he liked about her, she always knew when it was time to stop, when to insist, when to drop the matter entirely. And she was a good listener, too. After all those years, maybe it was time to take advantage of that.

<< I still think of them, sometimes, you know. >> he put it down bluntly. << Things like ‘what if I was there with them?’ or ‘could I have saved Ben that day?’, I mean Luther... I’m sure he did his best, but he never was... Well, he never was me, I guess. >>

She glared at him.

<< He’s never been able to look at the bigger picture, that’s all I’m saying! >>

He grabbed the bottle again.

<< I’m just being objective, here, okay? >> he said, drinking as if he had just survived a long stroll in the desert, which was not that far from the truth anyway. << That doesn’t mean I don’t... I didn’t... >>

There was a long silence there. But Dolores was damn good at waiting.

<< I do miss them. >>

Words like these came hard from his mouth.

<< And I did care about them. >>

Dolores kept waiting for more. Five looked away, well aware of her stare on the back of his neck.

<< And I’m sorry they never knew. >>

Only then she seemed satisfied. But her next words upset him.

<< Oh, you don’t know that! >> he got up and started pacing back and forth angrily, the bottle swaying in the air beside him. << Maybe I should just drop it, I’ll never be able to get back. You know I can’t. The old man was right all along, and you know how hard it is for me to admit that. >>

He stopped as if she had punched him right into his stomach.

<< How dare you even think something like that? >> he hissed, resisting the instinct to physically attack her only because he was a gentleman. << I know I could save them. The full force of the Academy... you have no idea. Dad trained us for this from the minute we were born. There’s no way we would have failed, together. I’m not trying to prove anything, I don’t need to. And if I could go back I would, so do me a favour and just drop all of that psycho-bullshit. >>

Only on the next sip, he noticed how much his hands were shaking.

<< I’m not holding back anything. >>

He needed to sit, he needed to get himself together.

<< It’s just that I can’t. >>

The bottle was almost empty now, but his fingers were clinging onto it as if it had been the most precious treasure in the world.

<< It’s just that I’m not good enough, that’s what it is. >>

When he felt his eyes go all watery and ticklish, he darted a quick glance at Dolores.

She was considerately looking away, pretending to be completely absorbed by the monotonous grey of the destruction surrounding them as usual.

He couldn’t help a grateful smile.

He was lucky to have her, he thought.

And maybe she was right, on one account. He could try again. There was nothing to lose, after all.

The next day, with a massive headache, he began the day rummaging in his stuff.

From one of the desks in what looked like an old university classroom, a mannequin and an eyeball put up their quiet surveillance as the blackboard got filled with equations.

Five wrote feverishly, for days, a stub of chalk in his hands, trying to find an impossible equilibrium to dominate space and time and save the world.

Dolores was smiling.

After all, he _was_ a Libra.

_Libra is a self-obsessed cardinal sign_ _, and a lofty air sign._ _But as the seventh sign of the zodiac, Libra can also be co-dependent. Although they talk a good game about their independence, many Libras secretly like to be taken care of, coddled and even_ _financially supported. They strive for justice and fairness, and they’re often better at starting than finishing._ _There is something awfully insecure about Libras, as if they were unsure which plate to burden next, aware that things pass and teach us to be careful around other people._

**Author's Note:**

> The quote in the beginning is an extract from ‘Good Omens: the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch’ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I found it interesting that when it comes to the apocalypse, some major Libra is always involved somehow. Plus, I found it quite accurate for this apocalypse too.  
> The quote in the end is a mash-up of different Libra depictions I found all over the internet. I'm honestly not an expert on the subject. I probably should have consulted Dolores before posting this.
> 
> M.


End file.
